


Rite of Passage

by nightcamedown



Category: Bones (TV)
Genre: Awkwardness, Episode Tag, Kissing, M/M, Rare Pairing, Squint Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-04-01
Updated: 2011-04-01
Packaged: 2017-10-17 10:31:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/175927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nightcamedown/pseuds/nightcamedown
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Ah, I wrote this forever ago and just rediscovered it languishing in one of my many WIP folders. I figured it was cute enough to see the light of day :)</p></blockquote>





	Rite of Passage

Outside the bathroom, the merry sounds of the non-wedding reception are nothing more than a pleasant hum.

To be honest, almost all sound has receded to a pleasant hum, as Zack has had two beers, and a sweet, pink cocktail which Cam assured him looked very masculine in the hand and in no way limited his prospects with the pretty cousin of the bride. Bride-to-be. Bride-that-was-to-be. Bride-that-

"So," Booth says, his voice a bit louder than strictly necessary. "Is this a squint thing?"

Zack blinks. Booth seems very large in the tiny, old-fashioned bathroom of the church hall. Larger even than normal. He's leaning on the edge of the sink, raising his eyebrows at Zack in affectionate impatience. Zack admits he's probably imagining the affectionate part.

"Sorry, what?"

Booth rolls his eyes. "You pulled me into the bathroom. Now we're in here staring at each other, while the pretty bridesmaids and all their pretty friends are out there dancing, and I'm wondering, is this a squint thing? Because I'm not seeing - "

He makes a surprised sound when Zack's lips meet his. He probably looks surprised, too, but Zack's eyes are closed and he doesn't plan on opening them in the forseeable future. After a moment, he feels hands on his shoulders, pressing him gently away. "What the hell - Zack, why are your eyes closed?"

"I've made an unwelcome homosexual overture, and I assume you're going to hit me now." Zack squeezes his eyes shut even tighter, and clenches his jaw.

When the blow doesn't come, he opens one eye about a millimeter. Booth is glaring at him, yet there's something vaguely hurt in his expression. "I'm not going to hit you."

"Really?" Zack thinks that over. "The literature suggested otherwise."

"At some point," Booth says through clenched teeth, "your constant astonishment at me not acting like a Neanderthal is going to become insulting."

"Neanderthal," he says quickly, hitting the hard t sound. "Actually, despite a number of high-profile dig sites, there remains a good deal of uncertainty regarding the structure and norms of their society, so I would not be qualified to judge the extent to which you - " Booth shifts off the sink and looms into Zack's space. "Ah. You mean, colloquially. Of course."

"What's going on, Zack?"

He swallows nervously. He'd back up but the ornamented towel ring jammed into his back lets him know there's nowhere to go. Booth's eyes are impossibly close, impossibly dark, and it occurs to Zach he should have kept his eyes open when they kissed. "I think it's obvious - "

Booth cocks his head and rests a hand on the wall somewhere above Zach's vision. "I didn't know you were gay."

Zack frowns. "I'm not comfortable with that appellation. It suggests a level of certainty about one's sexual orientation that I have not achieved. Though, clearly, recent developments suggest that I'm not exactly a zero on the Kinsey scale."

"What recent developments?"

"I think about touching you," Zack blurts. "All the time."

His eyes close again, this time reflexively. Humiliation may not be a rational emotion, but it's one he's found himself unable to conquer entirely. He senses Booth easing away, and waits for the click of the bathroom door. It doesn't come.

"That's kind of flattering," Booth says lightly. He grins when Zack's eyes pop open. "I'm very much not going to have sex with you. Just so we're clear."

"And you're not going to hit me?"

"No. I'm going to take you back to the bar and get you several drinks. None of them are going to be pink."

"Why?"

"Because pink is not the color of a man's drink, no matter what Cam says."

"No, I mean, why are you being nice to me?"

Booth folds his arms over his chest. "Zack, while I respect your right to explore your sexuality, and will have no problem with whatever it turns out be, I think this probably has less to do with the Kinship whats-it and more to do with that letter from the President."

"Kinsey scale," Zack mutters. "You think I want to have sex with the President?"

"Oh, God." Booth shudders. "No. I'm saying, you're about to do a big, scary thing, right? It's natural to question yourself, to wonder what you really want out of life. What you're fighting for." Zack must look as confused as he feels, because Booth grumbles, "Okay, in squint talk: ah, sex with inappropriate partners is a rite of passage for soldiers about to ship out."

Zack thinks about that for a moment. "That makes sense."

"Great!" Booth claps his hands. "Let's go drink and dance with the bridesmaids."

"Not to discount your appeal as an individual, of course." Zack holds up one finger. "You engender a sense of camaraderie and even intimacy."

"Thank you. Let's go."

"You also function symbolically, and often literally, as a protector." Zack nods to himself as the pieces fall into place. "If I was working out a deep-seated fear of injury or death, and sexuality was merely the mechanism by which I was expressing that fear, you would certainly be the most logical object of that expression."

Booth frowns. "That doesn't sound as flattering."

"You're also quite conventionally attractive."

"Wait." Booth nudges the door shut with his shoe and maneuvers Zack against it. Almost to himself, he sighs, "Squints. You make me crazy."

"What - "

Booth's lips are warm and sure against his own. After a moment, Booth breaks the kiss to murmur, "Just stop thinking for a second, please," and Zach does just that.

**Author's Note:**

> Ah, I wrote this forever ago and just rediscovered it languishing in one of my many WIP folders. I figured it was cute enough to see the light of day :)


End file.
